Letters

Glorious Gil

Dear Alibi,

[Re: Chewing the Fat, “Gil's Thrilling Interview,” May 22-28] Kudos to Maren Tarro for this story. I am a food writer and cookbook author in New York, and I must tell you that when I discovered Gil's Thrilling Web Site [www.nmgastronome.com], I was enchanted. And why not? Gil [Garduño] is a native of New Mexico writing about one of the many glories of the Land of Enchantment—the wonderful cuisine of New Mexico. OK, I know that's overkill, but it's heartfelt.

Gil's knowledge of the cuisine and foodways of his home state is boundless, and his writing is the poetry of the food world. A true testimony to Gil's efforts is the fact that he is continually contacted for assistance and advice by food experts and devotees from across the country. Of course, this includes the Food Network. We have all been the beneficiaries of his expertise as well as his enormous and unselfish generosity. Thank you so very much for recognizing Gil and his hard work.

Curran graduated with a degree in winemaking before becoming the assistant winemaker at Cambria Winery, the winemaker and general manager for Koehler Winery, the head of the winemaking team at Sea Smoke Cellars, starting her own label in 1997, and now overseeing all winemaking at Foley Estate Vineyard and Winery.

Heidi Barrett graduated from UC Davis in 1980 with a degree in fermentation science. She has been deemed “the first lady of wine” by Robert Parker and is probably best known for her cult wines such as Screaming Eagle.

Thank you for highlighting these hard-working women of the wine industry.

Aimée LasseigneVendedora de VinoLa Casa Sena Wine Shop

Santa Fe, N.M.

City of Dogs?

Dear Alibi,

Before I say adios to this city, I would like to put in my two-cents’ worth. Once upon a time in the West, a city grew up along the banks of a river.

The city consisted of thousands of brown stucco boxes, packed tightly together. Each stucco box had a tiny backyard, bordered by a broken-down wood fence or block wall.

And the Powers That Be looked upon the City By the River and pronounced it good—except for one thing: dogs.

It was decreed that Big Barking Dogs would be incarcerated in almost all of those tiny backyards. The dogs would inhabit the tiny backyards day and night, heat or cold. They would be allowed to bark constantly without any restraint by their owners. Even the little Indoor Yappers, when they went outside to relieve themselves, were allowed to screech as an intestinal stimulus.

The dogs were even encouraged to bark at the Sacred Hot Air Balloons that floated over the city. The Sacred Balloon People considered this a form of worship.

On rainy days (fortunately, not many), the smell of dog poop and moldy dog food blossomed in the tiny backyards. If non-dog owners complained to dog owners, they were threatened with bodily harm. The police, who already had their hands full with drunks and criminals, could not give much priority to dog complaints. So the mayor of the city had dog parks constructed for window dressing.

And the Powers That Be looked upon the City by the River and pronounced it one of the Most Dog-Friendly Cities in the Land!

S. DavisAlbuquerque

Gay Marriage

Dear Alibi,

[Re: Editorial, “Say 'I Do' to Gay Marriage,” May 22-28] Shouldn't this decision rest in the hands of the populace and not on one single opinion? What kind of democracy is this, anyway, where we don't get to vote on these issues? Marriage is not a matter of religion, just the ceremony. If we all relied on one person's opinion to tell us whether we should have the right to marry, I would imagine that in some states interracial marriages would be banned as well. We'd hear much more of an outcry against that, wouldn't we?

jstarrcomment on alibi.com

CORRECTION: In a letter titled “Green as Gold” in our May 15-21 issue, the author requested readers to "contact the city councilors and let them know you are in favor of the appeal for the 2000 Gold Project." A staff member from the City Council office contacted the Alibi to say that councilors are not supposed to receive information on pending appeals and won't be able to read citizen comments on the matter or consider them when hearing the case.

Letters should be sent with the writer’s name, address and daytime phone number via e-mail to letters@alibi.com. They can also be faxed to (505) 256-9651. Letters may be edited for length and clarity, and may be published in any medium; we regret that owing to the volume of correspondence we cannot reply to every letter.